Circular doorknob hanger



Dec. 1 5, 1942. Q HOWELL 2,305,426

CIRCULAR DOORKNOB HANGER Filed April 3, 1941 Zhwentor J' (/ZIOWZJ Mag.

Patented Dec. 15, 1942 CIRCULAR DOORKNOB HANGER Charles A. Howell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Pharma-Craft Corporation Incorporated,

Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Delaware Application April 3, 1941, Serial: No. 386,719 2 Claims. (c1; 229-74) v The present invention relates to improvements in circular doorknob hangers and has for an object to provide an improved device for easy attachment to doorknobs by telegraph messenger boys or others engaged in the distribution of circulars, letters or other advertising messages through ofiice buildings or other locations where the circular, letter or message may be appended to an object, such as a doorknob, on the hall side of the room in a position where the circular, letter or message will be brought actively to the visual attention of the occupant.

- It is now common practice to hire the messengers of telegraph companies for the purpose of distribution of advertising matter and the invention contemplates a simply constructed economical form of hanger device to enable such messengers to attach sample folders to the doors of residences, office buildings and the like. The

general practice of door-to-door distribution by Western Union or other messenger is to attach the advertising piece to the doorknob with a rubber band, or otherwise to simply insert the folder between the door and the door-jam.

It is a further object of the invention to improve upon this practical method of circular distribution by a substantially more practical method of circular distribution which will be much more productive in creating a desire on the part of the person who receives the advertising piece to open and read it.

A still further object of the provide a hanger as a separate manufactured unit having means to attach it to a doorknob and to an envelope or carrier for the circular or advertising piece.

method of formation of the hanger and of the,

attachment of the same to the envelope or carrier and to the doorknob.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention :will be more fully hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which the same reference characters identify identical or like parts throughout the several, views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved hanger in place upon an envelope or carrier of advertising matter.

Figure 2 is a similar view, with a part of the envelope broken away, with the hanger bent to a subsequent final position and shown in place upon a doorknob indicated in dotted lines.

invention is to Figure 3 is a perspective view of the improved hanger detached from the envelope.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the envelope in the condition before the hanger is attached thereto and,

Figure 5 is also a perspective view showing the method and initial step by which the hanger is engaged with the envelope.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I0 designates an envelope orother carrier in which circulars, advertising pieces. or other messages may be contained. Suchenvelopes I9 may be of a usual form of envelope modified according to the invention by the production of a slit or slot H therein. Advantageously, this slit H is in a corner portion of the envelope ID and preferably the long axis or length of the slit ll coincides 7 with a diagonal line across the corner portionof the envelope. Such slit II is spaced appreciably from the corner portion I2 of the envelope In to allow suflicient room within the envelope in the included space between the slit H and corner portion l2 for the accommodation of the attaching part of the hanger l3. Such hanger may be made of a piece of cardboard fashioned with a circular opening I4 receivable upon an object such as a doorknob, shown in Figure 2. A slit [5 is made in the'body portion 13 of the hanger from the opening Hi all the way through to an outside edge of such hanger l3 producing separable end sections l6 and H at the sides of the slit [5, which sections may be bent to opposite sides of the plane of the hanger I3, thereby pro-- ducing a gap suflicient to extend over the shank 18 of the knob l9 of a door 20. The body l3 of the hanger carries a with aview to producing a narrow or constricted neck; 22 suitable for'contributing with an enlarged head 23 to produce shoulders 24.. Advantageously, the side edges 250i the tongue 2| are convergent to narrow neck 22 to'leave unoccupied spaces adjacent shoulders 24' where the ends of the envelope slit l I may engage in' the act of assembling the hanger to the envelope Ill.

' The obverse face of the hanger is shown in Figures 2 and 3. The reverse face is shown in Figures 1 and 5. Upon the obverse face may be pasted or otherwise secured an attractive sticker 26 showing the delivery service by which the circulars are being distributed.

The envelope hangers are made separately from the envelopes, which latter may be of a customary origin in envelope manufacturers. The envelope manufacturers may produce the tongue 2]; preferably of diminished or diminishing width slits H in the envelope at the time of manufacture or subsequently, or the distributor of the advertising matter may, after purchase of the envelopes, produce such slits The circulars, letters or other messages in an enfolded or other condition are inserted into the envelopes and the hangers attached thereto. This attachment is initiated by placing the hanger in the position shown in Figure with its obverse face against the envelope |0 and with one shoulder 24 entering the slit I. The tongue 2| is thereupon worked toward one end of the slit H with the cut-away portion of the tongue 2| about the shoulder 24 receiving this end wall of the slit During and after this maneuver,

the hanger I3 is rotated clockwise as viewed in Figure 5 until after the opposite shoulder 24 enters slit whereupon the hanger may be centered with respect to the slit its final correct position being indicated in Figure 1 in which the opposite shoulders 24 are wider than the slit II and engaged within the envelope and behind such slit II. In this condition, the hanger is interlockingly assembled to the envelope.

The next step in the method of attachment is to bend or fold overthe hanger l3 on the transverse line of least width, namely at the narrow neck 22. At such zone the folding can be easily accomplished. This zone being in the slit I! will contribute to the interlocking engagement between envelope and hanger due to the angular relation now assumed by the plane of hanger l3 with reference to the plane of envelope ID.

The angle of folding is substantially through an 180. In other words, the hanger is returned upon the enlarged head 23. This arrangement forms a saddle along the constricted neck 22 between the two vertical walls 2| and 23 in which the envelope is hung for support. Thus for the envelope H] to accidentally detach itself from its hanger requires that one or the other wall 2| or 23 be pulled down into the vertical to destroy the saddle thus formed. Obviously it is impossible for the tongue 2| to be pulled down into the vertical because this tongue is carried by the body portion |3 of the hanger which is engaged over the shank l8 of the doorknob |9. In other words, the wall or tongue 2| is not a free wall. While the other wall or head 23 is a free wall, it is against the door and the envelope In is also held by the device close to the door 2!! so that the door 20 constitutes an adjacent obstruction at least tending to prevent the wall 23 from rotating about the saddle line 22. Even though the wall 23 should so unfold itself, escape of the envelope I!) from the shoulders 24 would be unlikely unless and until the constricted neck 22 was shifted to one side of slot H and the hanger or envelope relatively rotated in a manner reversely to that previously described in connection with the assembly of the hanger to the envelope.

The position of the parts on delivery is shown in Figure 2 where the messenger boy has secured the hanger over the shank I8 of the doorknob by opening the slit l5 which automatically closes due to the inherent resiliency of the material out of which the hanger is made. The hanger thus extends substantially vertically and the envelope l0 depends vertically therefrom, lying close to the door 20 and in clear view of the occupant of the premises entering through the door 20. Such occupant may quickly pull the hanger I3 from the door or disengage it by opening the sections l6 and H at the slit l5. When disengaged from the doorknob, the hanger may be disregarded as its position at one corner of the front wall of the envelope leaves it in a position where it does not impede the opening of the envelope and the extraction of the circular or message therefrom.

It will be noted that the outer edge of the head 23 is curved or rounded to facilitate its rotary movement into the envelope through slit II.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with an envelope having a diagonal slit spaced from but close to a corner portion thereof of a hanger of resilient material having an opening receivable over a supporting object and a slit through one side of the hanger communicating with the opening, a narrowing tongue carried by the hanger terminating in a constricting neck of diminished width, a head extending beyond said neck and being wider than said neck and wider than said slit, shoulders beneath said head adjacent said neck, said head having a rounded outer edge, said head insertable through said slit in the en-- velope by a rotary motion of said hanger, said hanger being foldable on said neck after assembly to produce a saddle between said neck and head for supporting the envelope at the slit portion.

2. The combination with an envelope having a slit, of an independent hanger adapted to be detachably secured to said envelope, said hanger having a body portion of flexible material with an opening extending therethrough, the axis of the opening being disposed at a right angle to the plane of the body portion, said body portion being slit from one of its sides into said opening at a point spaced a substantial distance below the top of the opening, said body portion having a narrow depending neck in the plane of the body portion and terminating in an enlarged shouldered head, said head being wider than.

the slit in the envelope and having an outer curved wall to facilitate assembly of the head through the slit in the envelope by a rotary movement of the hanger, said envelope in its assembled position being disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the body portion and at a right angle to the axis of the opening in the body portion.

CHARLES A. HOWELL. 

